REFLECTION IN LESSON 3: A WORLD OF REGIONS
Why do we need to study a world of regions? Now, before I proceed to my
reflection, I want to give a short answer to this question, so here it is, the reason why
there is a study about this lesson for me is because in able to understand the
complexity of the world when it comes to events, changes and phenomena it should
start from the regions around the globe. From what I have learned in the discussion a
week ago and as what I have said in the report, a region is a way for governments and
a group of people to establish regional organizations to meet the challenges of
globalization. Therefore, it means that the regional world is a way for the governments
and associations of different countries and societies to work together, faced with the
challenges that globalization brings to the world, this allows them to come together,
communicate, cooperate and help each other. We all know that globalization has made
great contributions to the life of every human being, it made the life of every individual
easier than before, but on top of that, it also presents challenges for the world and
human life. The world is changing and as it changes, the world is undergoing many
innovations and changes, but despite of this, human beings are still able to adjust and
adapt to the changes that are taking place.
What is North-South divide? Just by the word divide, you can easily define what
this concept is, The world is divided into two, the North and South, there is a division in
between because of the gap when it comes to wealth, socio-economic and political,
globalization indeed brought contribution to the world and humans life but it also cause
uneven ground in countries around the world. The South is where countries that are
poorly developing belongs while the North is where wealthy and are fully developed
countries belongs to. Why is there an existing partition between south and the north? To
be specific, it is because of wealth and development and because of the different views
on slavery. Moreover, one of the reasons is because of a global divides wherein there is
a global discrepancy when it comes to economic of a certain country. We cannot deny
the fact that not all countries accomplished a development in terms of economic,
resources and technologies, and there is a countries that are still under development
because of some problems concerning their progress, the reality is quite dismal
because of the fact that there is a difference between a developed and developing
countries especially when it comes to access in information and Technology resources
as well as when it comes to opportunities in terms of accessing those resources such as
Internet, in general, there is a Digital gap. We also have this development gap, from the
word development which refers to the process of developing, included here is the
Human Development Index which refers to a measurement that is used to measure the
level of development of a certain country and by this, it will be easily determine where a
certain country is located, does it get closer to a development pathway or not? This will
be answered by HDI or the Human Development Index.
What is the third world? The Third World is a country that is considered a low-
level country in economic terms. The world economy is divided into four, depending on
the economic situation of a country, these are the first world, the second world, the third
world and the fourth world. In the first world, countries that belong here are developed
countries that also have democracy, prosperity, greater influence and developed
economies. In the second world, the countries that belong here are second only to the
first world countries, and it is better than the third world in terms of wealth, development,
economic progress and economic stability. Now, we also have the third world, the
countries that belong to this world have low economic stability and low level of
development, people who live here benefit from low and middle income, the concept of
the Third World helps to identify countries with high child morality, low economic
development, high levels of poverty, low use of natural resources and high dependence
on industrialized countries. The economies of third world countries are often dependent
on developed countries and are generally characterized by unstable government, rapid
population growth, high illiteracy rates, and a high incidence of disease. Moreover,
consist here is the lack of a poor middle class with millions of people and a very small
elite upper class that controls the wealth and resources of the country. Most third world
countries also have very high external debts. Finally, we have the Fourth World, and the
countries that belong here are the least developed of the three worlds. Obviously the
reason it is called the Fourth World is because it is the poorest place in the world and, of
course, living here. One of the key economic indicators used to determine the state of
the country economy is GDP. GDP refers to the total currency value or market value of
the final goods and services manufactured within the scope of a country to observe the
country's economic growth during a specific time period of a year. GDP also does not
consider goods and services imported from other countries, except for the home
country.
What is regionalism? Regionalism refers to a series of economic agreements and
formal economic cooperation between countries aimed at promoting or strengthening
regional integration. Despite this contribution, regionalism is often seen as a serious
threat to national development, progress, and unity. It poses an internal security
challenge to insurgent groups that spread regionalism and oppose the country dominant
political and administrative system. According to the discussion a week ago, our teacher
mentioned that federalism is an example of regionalism. In fact, it coincides with
regionalism, because federalism refers to a form of government in which two levels of
government will control a territory. The goal of this federal system is to unite these
separated countries into a political system in which each country can maintain its own
integrity. Although regionalism has a good influence, it also has its specific advantages
and disadvantages. One advantage of regionalism includes allowing people to
understand their role in the community. On the other hand, one downside of regionalism
is that it can exclude newcomers.
How does regionalism benefit Asia? Asian regionalism can not only bring great
benefits to Asia, but also great benefits to the world. It can help keep the region
growing, strengthen its stability, and reduce inequality in the right way. Furthermore, it
can help Asia meet regional challenges and lay a stronger foundation for its global role.
In general, thanks to regionalism, Asia has been able to grow, develop and accelerate
its economic development and success. In this way, poverty in parts of Asia can be
resolved, and the needs and demands of consumers can be met and maintained. These
consumers are citizens living in Asia.
Asia's continued vitality enhanced through regional cooperation may strengthen
Asia's role as a new stable engine for global economic growth and this is the benefit that
the world can attain from Asian regionalism. There are many reasons why Asia can
remain export-oriented, especially as its economy relies heavily on economies of scale
and the scope of the manufacturing industry and therefore requires the global market to
realize its potential. As an integrated Asia continue to occupy an important position in
the global economy, it will have the motivation and influence to play a greater role in
keeping the global market open. Although the main motivation of Asian regionalism is to
promote the well-being of the region, it will not achieve this goal by undermining the
development of other places, conversely, when other major regions reach economic
maturity.
ARLYN MAE S. UNOS
